Elastomeric materials are utilized in numerous industrial applications. For example, elastomeric materials are utilized in the manufacture of various hoses, seals, and insulating devices found in the engines of automobiles and other vehicles. In addition, devices for mounting the engines within these vehicles typically comprise one or more metal parts adhesively bonded to one or more elastomeric parts. In these and many other industrial applications utilizing elastomeric materials, the elastomeric materials are typically exposed to corrosive and degrading materials such as various solvents, oils and fuels. Elastomeric materials have a tendency to degrade when exposed to these types of materials, and there is a continuing search within the elastomer industry to create an elastomer which is resistant to corrosive materials.
One method of rendering elastomeric materials resistant to corrosive materials is to apply a protective coating to the elastomeric material. Various corrosion-resistant coatings previously utilized for both flexible substrates (e.g., elastomeric substrates) and rigid substrates (e.g., steel, stainless steel, aluminum or plastic) include polyurethanes, polysulfides and fluorocarbon elastomers. When applied to rigid substrates, traditional corrosion-resistant coatings such as fluorocarbon elastomers have been found to provide excellent resistance to oil and fuel. However, when applied to flexible elastomeric substrates such as natural rubber or polybutadiene, the fluorocarbon elastomers suffer from poor fatigue resistance, poor low temperature characteristics, and poor adhesion to the natural rubber or polybutadiene substrate.
A need currently exists for a protective coating for flexible elastomeric substrates such as natural rubber and polybutadiene that is resistant to fatigue and temperature variability, and that exhibits effective adhesion to the substrate.